


Victor(ia) Frankenstein

by Ysabetwordsmith



Series: Frankenstein's Family [1]
Category: Frankenstein & Related Fandoms, Frankenstein (1931), Frankenstein - Mary Shelley
Genre: Alternate Universe - Family, Alternate Universe - Gender Changes, Alternate Universe - Science Fiction, Alternate Universe - Trans, Body Dysphoria, Canon Disabled Character, Class Differences, Class Issues, Classics, Declarations Of Love, Disability, Disapproving Family, Discrimination, Dysfunctional Family, Dysfunctional Relationships, Families of Choice, Family, Family Drama, Family Dynamics, Family Secrets, Feels, Feminist Themes, Friendship/Love, Gender Dysphoria, Gender Identity, Gender Issues, Genderbending, Gothic, Hurt/Comfort, Love, Mad Science, No Sex, Other, Physical Disability, Platonic Romance, Rejection, Romance, Romantic Friendship, Science Babies, Science Boyfriends, Science Experiments, Science Family, Science Fiction, Stillbirth, Trans Character, Trans Male Character, Unconventional Families, Victorian Science Fiction
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-11
Updated: 2014-02-11
Packaged: 2018-01-11 22:52:42
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 837
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1178922
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ysabetwordsmith/pseuds/Ysabetwordsmith
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Victor Frankenstein, born Victoria, goes into science to explore sex/gender changes.  He meets Igor, and the two of them form a strong platonic attachment.  They decide to create a family together.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Victor(ia) Frankenstein

**Author's Note:**

> This story began with a prompt from LiveJournal user Siliconshaman during the July 2, 2013 [Poetry Fishbowl](http://ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com/730515.html): "What if Victor Von Frankenstein hadn't been an abusive parent? [which in effect, is what he was.] Come to think of it, what if it had been Victoria Von Frankenstein instead?" 
> 
> A note on feedback: While it's not necessary to comment on every post I make, remember that I don't know who reads/likes things if nobody says anything. Particularly on long stories, I've discovered that I get antsy if there's nothing but crickets chirping for several posts. So it helps to give me feedback at least once, even if it's just "I like this" or "This one doesn't grab me." First and last episodes are ideal if you rarely feel inspired to comment in the middle.
> 
> Anonymous commenters: You don't have to specify exactly who you are, but it helps to have a first name or a username from some other service, so I have some idea of who's saying which and how many different "Anonymous" folks there are. You can just type some kind of identifier at the end of your comment.

It was not Victor Frankenstein's fault  
that his parents had mistaken him for a girl  
due to the unfortunate shape of his genitals.  
He knew, of course, that he was a boy,  
although the presence of a vulva  
where there should have been a penis  
was more than a bit confusing for a while.

He maintained his insistence  
through scoldings and whippings,  
and his parents soon learned  
that they could either dress him in trousers  
or have him tear off the petticoats  
and run naked through the house.

So they kept him home  
and had him tutored in private.  
He studied all kinds of science,  
became quite good at it,  
and learned that sexual variation  
occurred in species throughout nature.

Like most men, Victor wished  
for a wife and children.  
There was a girl whom he courted  
for a time, but then she found out --  
well, leave it said that walking in on him  
whilst he was in the shower  
swiftly led to her walking out altogether.

Victor moved house, not for the first time,  
seeking a place where nobody knew him  
or his regrettable deformity.  
He hired a servant to assist in the lab,  
a gentle hunchback by the name of Igor,  
and they soon became friends.

Victor was always searching for  
ways to alter the human body,  
in hopes of changing what looked female  
into what would look male.  
It never really went beyond testing on mice  
but it gave him some interesting ideas.

It was Igor, though, who really started it --  
when they finally got the frog legs to twitch  
during a thunderstorm, and they hugged  
and danced around the lab together.

"You know," Igor said slowly,  
"I've seen how you watch the women  
in the village with their little babies.  
You've explained that you can't have  
a child of your own body ...  
but I believe you could _make_ one."

Victor smiled, but it was a sad smile.  
"It's sweet of you to suggest that, Igor,  
but society expects a baby  
to come with a mother," he said.

"So pretend one," Igor said.  
"Women die in childbirth all the time.  
Move to a new village, say that  
you married and your wife passed away."

"That does not give me a mother for the baby,"  
Victor pointed out. "Who would care for it?"  
"Must it be a mother?" Igor said quietly.  
"Look at me, Victor -- you are not the only one  
who ever had a woman run out of the bathroom.  
I too would like a child, and the ordinary way  
is completely out of my reach.  
I would gladly help you raise a baby."

So Igor procured the supplies  
and they set about trying to make an infant.  
It was harder than they thought.  
The sad little corpses of stillborn babies  
made both scientist and assistant cry.  
They persevered, though, because  
this was the only hope they had.

One dark and stormy night,  
they finally succeeded in creating life.  
They laughed and wept  
and hastened to put out the fire in the lab.  
They bandaged each other's burned hands  
and wrapped the baby in a blanket.

They named him Adam.  
He fussed and cried, waving his fists.  
It took an hour to get him fed  
and both parents wound up  
wearing more than a bit of goat milk.

Igor rocked him and cuddled him  
while Victor made a bassinet out of a packing crate,  
because they'd been so busy making the baby  
that they'd forgotten half the things  
a baby would _need_.  
At last they put Adam to bed.

"I worry, a bit, about whether or not  
he'll be able to grow properly,"  
Victor said, watching their son sleep.

"Ah well ... I suppose I should tell you  
what got me interested in science,"  
Igor admitted. "I spent years  
studying growth hormones,  
hoping to fix my damn back,  
before I realized it was too late for me.  
The formula would only work  
on a child whose bones were still growing."  
He shrugged. "But if we need it,  
I'm sure we can recreate it."

Victor gave Igor a long look then.  
"I know we've both had bad luck with women,"  
the scientist said, "and neither of us are the sort  
to go about lifting other men's shirts,  
but I hope you won't be offended  
if I say that what I feel for you  
could very easily be mistaken for love."

"Don't be silly, Victor," said Igor.  
"I've loved you ever since the day  
you saw me changing my shirt  
and _didn't_ sack me for being  
too hideous to look at. The fact  
that I don't want you in my bed  
has nothing whatsoever to do  
with how I _feel_ about you."

"Oh," said Victor.  
"Then I love you too."

They didn't share a bed,  
but they did move into the same room  
so that they could put the bassinet  
between the two beds and listen,  
all through the night, to the sounds  
of the lifegiving rain on the roof and  
their family breathing softly beside them.

**Author's Note:**

> The classic novel [_Frankenstein_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frankenstein) by [Mary Shelley](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Shelley) provided the primary inspiration for this poem and series. You can [read the original online](http://www.literature.org/authors/shelley-mary/frankenstein/). [Feminist critiques](http://www.english.uga.edu/~eberle/2002033K/spring03/materials/feminist_crit_frankenstein.htm) of this have also contributed to my reading and interpretation of the material, such as bringing in the aspects of gender identity.
> 
> [Transgender](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transgender) people have a [deep history](http://www.albertatrans.org/history.shtml).  Because medical treatments for this are relatively recent, in the past people often just "passed" as their gender of identity, covering up their physical shape as best they could.  Some transgender people consider their sexual traits to be a deformity or [birth defect](http://tscongenitaldisorder.blogspot.com/2012/06/addendum-no-more-addenda.html); [others don't](http://www.transgenderlondon.com/is_transgender_a_birth_defect.htm).  Sometimes it gives them sympathy for people with other types of physical challenges.
> 
> Victor and Igor share what's called a [queerplatonic relationship](http://aromantics.wikia.com/wiki/Queerplatonic), which is a devoted bond that is not romantic.  They both happen to be heterosexual men who for various reasons don't feel able to marry women, and they've become deeply attatched to each other in a way that allows them to form an [unconventional family](http://www.oprah.com/relationships/Advantages-of-Non-Traditional-Families-Unconventional-Families).  They are not "in love" but they do love each other -- and their son.


End file.
